IRISH OPEN SEASON WITH SWEEP OF DEPAUL!!!

We opened the season this past weekend at DePaul in Chicago and picked up right where we ended last season with a three game sweep of the Demons.

We kicked off our season on Saturday, 9/20 with a resounding 9-0 victory.   Connor Brown started the game and threw 4 strong innings of 2 hit ball and 2 strikeouts in the W, while Mike McMannon came in and finished the game with 3 more innings of 2 hit ball and 4 Ks.  The team was paced offensively by Tim Coen (C), Tory King (CF), and John Plantemoli (RF) who all collected 2 hits and scored 1 run each.  Overall, the game was a total team effort with 8 of the 9 starters recording a hit!

The next day, Sunday 9/21, we finished the series with a double header.  In the first game our offensive exploded with 20 runs and we ended up winning the game 20-3.  Jack Winkle started the game and though struggling a little in the first inning by allowing a couple runs, came back out and threw 2 great innings to end the day with a solid line of 3.0 innings, 3 ER, 3H, and 2Ks.  Rob Browne, a sophomore, made his Irish debut with 2 scoreless innings of 1 hit ball and 4 Ks.  The game was paced offensively by two newcomers to the team right fielder Alex Kerschner (3-5, 3B, HR, 3R) and third baseman Chris Silveri (3-3, 3R).  Veterans Sam Zappa (SS), Tory King (CF) and Taylor Gillig (2B) added to the run total with 3, 3, and 4, respectively.

The final game of the series ended up being the closest and most competitive of the three, yet we were able to pull it out with a win 6-5.  The Demons starter went a solid 7 innings but came away with the L.  Mike Cyrocki started the game and gave the Irish a solid 5 innings of 4h, 2R, 1 ER, and 5 K while collecting his first win of the season.  Mike “Elastic Arm” McMannon shut the door on the Demons by closing out the game with 1 2/3 innings of shutout relief, collecting his first save of the season.  The offense came out a little sluggish with only 1 run in the first 4 innings yet exploded in the 6th with 5.  Trailing 2-1 going into the 6th, Irish scored 5 powered by a lead off triple by Alex Kerschner (CF) and a bases clearing double by Chuck “Clutch” Connors (2B).  Again the team was led by Alex Kerschner who went with 3-4, with 2 1B, a 3B and 2 R.  Chuck Connors also added another hit in the fourth that helped led to the first run of the game for the Irish.

Players of the Week

Offensive:

Notes: Alex is one of just two freshmen who cracked the ND travel roster this year, starting off his Club Baseball career with a bang providing both speed and power in the lineup along with stellar play in the outfield this weekend.

Pitching:

Notes: McMannon picked up where he left off last year as ND’s go-to relief man. Errors and walks put Notre Dame in a tight spot in their final game with DePaul, and McMannon entered in the bottom of the 6^th with the tying run on 3rd and the go-ahead at 1^st. He proceeded to induce a shallow fly to right and a groundout to SS to end the inning, breezing through a scoreless 7^th to score himself a save and lock down the win for the Irish.

Overall this weekend was the way we wanted to start the season and we hope to carry this momentum through to Battle Creek!!!